Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-02-25
SANITARY.
Annual Report Or the sta. -,
HEALTH

Inc annual report Of the State Ro.rd =.
es''" mas been completed and il a very
compfehensive and instructive documen,
giving valuable facte about the health Of rho
people for the past year, and it ia imno,.. :.
that that there be sufficient numhsr &c -.
reports for distribution. The vork &c 49,
Board has been an arduous one, and much &c
Its efficiency is due to the efforts of n,
Young, its Secretary.
In the introductory to the report i, !. ..;a
mat In the second year of its work the hoard
mas had no great epidemic to cope with nor
WIN the near danger Of one. vet il mnst bo
saio that there have been somewhat freeman,
outbreaks Of the indigenous. infe,t;ons
diseases, ana 1t is exactly fror,
these we'll known malaGies ,ba.
our mortality lists are often swelled 20 nov
large proportion. Referring to commun;ca.
tions from medical correspondents rsu.rd;no
o'pntherla as 1t has prevailed in the State
curing the past twenty-five years, we are told
tnat IN 1860 and the years following il sven,
on whole families of children and even de-.
p"paiated school districts; that over one
,undred deaths occurred in the small town of
Lee IN SIX months; that in 1862 one physi
0lDhthprIa
mat 10 1873 in small school district a fam
lily of Ave children was attacked and rho, ,ha
nelghbnrs representing eight families assisted
IN ursing these children and carried The d.
ease to their families in every instance ex.
cept one; and that in 1856 in a small VILLAGE
elent families were thrown into mournino
"lhln a lew weeks: we are reminded of the
TACT that thls disease is in high degree nre-
Ventaoie by modern sanitary methods. and
reference Is made to instances of the comnlate
restriction OF infeo tious diseases over long
series OF years which would seem to show
that this is no visionary scheme.
In the Secretary's report we learn that
during the past year there have been quite
a number of serious outbreaks of the zymotic
diseases in the State, mostly of diph,heria, and
that OF TINS latter disease the more serious
outbreaks have been at Aliens Corner,
Deering, East M .dison, Canton, Brunswick.
and Dixmont At Aliens Corner the epidem
ic was started by importation. A lady went
to Boston with her child and while there the
child died of dlphthertic Group Returning
the clothes were given to the B. family and
IN short time the six or seven children in
tins family were taken sick. From them it
communicatedto the d. family by the play-
ing together of the children. In the d. family
SIX or seven children were sick and the
father died. Boarding in this family there
were also two young men, Mr.. E. and
Mr.. F., both of whom had the disease.
During Mr.. F.'s sickness. Miss G called
upon him and took the disease. Mrs.
H., neighbor, attended her and was
taken down with the disease Miss l., a
school teacher who boarded with Mrs n. ,
contracted the disease from Mrs II. Again,
from the ID. family another line of contagion
went to the J. family, the three children of
which all had the disease as well as the
neither. From the j. family there were
three lines of contagion: one to
Miss A., who said she was not
afraid of the disease ard visited the family
while they were sick one to Mrs Us niece,
who came to the house of the j family some
time after the sickness of the children, and
one to the l.. family probably by the attend
ance at school by the children of the two
families. In the L. family three children
died. Mrs. M. and Mrs. N, who helped to
prepare the body of the first little victim for
the casket both took the disease, and Mrs. N =,
though tifty-three years of age, died after an
illness OF only three days. The following
| schematic arrArg meut shows how these cases
We're connected by cuntsglon: